Mother Apologizes On Facebook For Son's Alleged Car Burglaries

VICTORVILLE (CBSLA.com) — The mother of a 17-year-old boy Monday publicly apologized on Facebook for her son's alleged car burglaries that occurred over the weekend in Apple Valley.

KCAL9's Crystal Cruz spoke with Paula Hamblen about her public apology and a victim who responded to Hamblen's post online.

Hamblen's apology stated that she's sorry for her son's "stupid choice" and that he was hanging out with the wrong crowd when he was arrested and accused of stealing.

"I was crying when the officers ended up calling me, letting me know that this is what happened," Hamblen said. "You know, I was really upset because they said it was really terrible things that they were doing."

Hamblen said that she has always been a parent who taught her kids right from wrong.

"He's probably going to be mad at me, but I don't care," said Hamblen. "Hopefully, he learns his lesson."

Currently, there are more than 100 comments from various Facebook users in response to her public apology, with praising remarks such as, "I applaud you for posting this."

"I was blaming myself for what he did," Hamblen said. "Some people were like 'Don't blame yourself, it's not your fault.' "

On Monday, Steven Edinborough saw Hamblen's Facebook post about car break-ins around the same neighborhood where his Jeep was robbed over the weekend.

"I was kind of blown away for her courage to come out," said Edinborough. "At the same time, I was embarrassed for her son."

"I went to grab my wallet, and my glove box was cleaned out," said Edinborough. "I looked in my change holder, and it was all pennies, but they were all gone, and I was 'Oh, my gosh; I totally got robbed.' "

Hamblen hopes that a combination of jail time and public humiliation will set her teenager straight and out of trouble.

Since Sunday, officers have recovered and returned all of Edinborough's property that was stolen.